Prompted by safety concerns and backed by the liquor industry, 17 states have passed laws prohibiting the use of devices that vaporize alcohol so that it can be inhaled by users, the Associated Press reported Oct. 7.

Kentucky is the latest state to ban the alcohol vaporizers, joining California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and others.

The health concerns regarding the devices are summarized by Robert Walker of the University of Kentucky's Center on Drug and Alcohol Research: "When you inhale alcohol right into the lung tissue, that gets drawn right into the blood supply immediately, so it's a very rapid onset of the intoxicating effect, and so has obviously very high abuse potential."

Teresa A. Barton, interim executive director of the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy, said the devices have "no purpose other than to get you drunk."

But Kevin Morse, who markets the Alcohol Without Liquid (AWOL) devices, says, "At the end of the day, it's just a new way for adults to enjoy alcohol in a different manner." He claimed that the state campaigns against the vaporizers have helped sales of the devices, which are sold online.

"We haven't spent the first dime on advertising," he said. "When these legislators start repeating these rumors, then we start selling them like crazy."